


a moment to breathe

by jomlette



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Regret, no beta we die like tony stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 09:21:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20486534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jomlette/pseuds/jomlette
Summary: There was no other way. There was no other way.But there was.There should've been.





	a moment to breathe

**Author's Note:**

> my wip doc always has some sort of summary/explanation before every wip but i found this thing smack dab in the middle with neither a title nor context. presumably i wrote this immediately after seeing endgame, still high on tears.
> 
> was there a larger plot to this? probably. do i remember what that plot was supposed to be? nope, but i figured it's coherent enough as it is to post on its own.

He takes a moment to breathe. And another. And another.

Back in the battle, covered in blood and grime and who knows what else, the reality of what had to happen didn’t settle in until the deed was done. Not even peering into the millions of possible futures and spending five years gone but aware had given him enough time to process the weight of the future he chose. The death he chose to happen.

Sitting near the river, suit and tie still crisp, it comes crashing down.

The stubborn bastard. He was right. Of course he was right. Stephen should have listened to him sooner, maybe that could’ve given them a possible future that was brighter than this. No, not could’ve, he knows for a goddamn fact that would’ve given them a better future, he checked those lost futures and they could’ve won the fight earlier---

“Stop,” he says out loud to himself. Alone near the river, only the gentle sound of rushing water accompanies the broken sound of his voice. 

There was no other way. There was no other way. 

But there was. 

Footsteps approach him carefully, and by the sound and speed he determines it to be Wong, still fully dressed in his own suit and tie. The man eyes him carefully, curiously, but not judgmental. Steadily, he clasps a hand over Stephen’s shoulder, grounding him when his legs waiver. 

“There was no other way,” Stephen repeats out loud. The words feel foreign, sound foreign. Wong’s passive gaze gives nothing away to the believability of his words. 

But, nothing. Wong doesn’t validate, nor scold him. “With choices with such an impact as yours, right and wrong cease to have meaning.” He squeezes his shoulder one more time, before walking back from where he came. “The remaining guests have returned back to the house. You should come in, the spider kid’s aunt brought casserole.” 

Stephen turns back to the river. Small pebbles are swept away by the water’s current. Despite the shrubbery and twigs that disrupt their path, the little minerals steadily make their way with the water. 

He takes a moment to breathe, and takes his time walking back to the house.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr at jomlette


End file.
